User interface displays may present a menu or listing of various items of information to a user for purposes of permitting the user to interactively view the listings and/or select one of the displayed items or options from the listing. Such user interface displays are useful in many applications. One example of such display is an electronic channel guide which provides various information concerning channels and content available on the channels or on-demand to a subscriber of a cable TV operator, satellite TV operator, Internet broadcaster/service provider or other program provider.
An electronic channel guide is typically displayed on a display monitor or screen of a television, a tablet, lap-top or other computer, a smart phone, a remote control unit, a media center device, or other electronic device associated with a monitor or screen. The electronic channel guide typically displays a listing of channels or programs on demand carried by the service provider and information concerning the content of each channel with respect to a particular day and time of day.
Conventional user interface displays are provided in a tabular format with each item of information being provided on a separate line or row of the listing. Typically, where the information or selections are numerous, the tabular listing is provided in a scrollable format such that only a fraction of a total number of selections is actually displayed at any given time. This requires the user to scroll up or down (vertically) through rows or lines of the tabular listing to display items in the listing. Channel guide displays, as one example, also typically permit scrolling horizontally along lines or rows of the tabular listing for purposes of displaying additional information and content relative to days and/or times.
As a slight variation on the tabular format discussed above, each row of a listing within a user interface display may provide information with respect to multiple different items in a grid-like pattern. It is also known to provide so-called thumbnail illustrations, icons, or images next to or as an item within a listing. Still further, it is also known to map or cause such a listing of information to wrap onto the skin of a displayed object shown in perspective view such that the listing follows the surface contour of the object shown in perspective. By way of example, a listing of information can be mapped onto the “skin” or outer surface contour of a sphere or globe, as provided, for instance, in the ABC News App for iPad computer application for providing an interactive globe interface that displays still images and headlines of news stories accessible via the Internet or like network connection.
In the above referenced example, the user interface is provided in the form of a perspective representation of a globe for display on a flat or two-dimensional display screen. A plurality of individual tiles forms the skin or outer contour of the globe in a patch-like format with each tile representing one item of content selectable from a listing of a plurality of content selections. The tiles are arranged in a plurality of rows with each row extending laterally across the surface contour of the globe with the tiles in any given row being arranged in single-file order. The laterally-extending rows are stacked vertically from south to north poles of the globe such that several rows are in the line of sight of the viewer.
Due to the perspective nature of the representation of the above referenced globe, the tiles in the rows become smaller, more distorted, and therefore less prominent as they extend farther from the equator of the globe and closer to the north and south poles of the globe and as they extend around the outer peripheral edges of the surface contour of the globe relative to the line of sight of the viewer. The user is able to interactively scroll through the listings by causing the globe to spin in any direction so that any tile within any row can be re-located and displayed in a prominent position, such as in a front-center position on the globe relative to the line of sight of the viewer. At this position, the tile appears relatively large and its content is relatively easy to view and/or read by the user. The user may also change the perspective of the globe moving the globe further away to see more of the globe, and moving closer to the globe to see more details on individual tiles. By moving the reference perspective into the globe the user can see the globe and tiles from a point within the sphere. The user is able to interactively select any one of the tiles to view the content represented thereby.
With respect to some user interface displays, a relatively large number of items to be represented may eliminate the practical use of wrapping or mapping the listing about a surface contour of an object shown in perspective view in a visual display. For instance, the number of channels or content provided by a cable TV, satellite TV, Internet service provider, or other service provider may be too numerous to display in a crowded field of tiles of sufficient size to be readily perceptible to an end user in a manner enabling channels and content to be readily, quickly and conveniently located within the interactive display. Thus, an apparatus and method facilitating alternatives with respect to displaying user interface information, such as electronic channel and program guides, are desired.